How to play Chinese chess

Nine files, ten ranks, a river across the middle and a palace at each end. Learn those three and the pieces explain themselves.

楚 河汉 界Palace — general stays insidePalace — general stays insideRiver — soldiers gain a sidestep, elephants never cross車馬象士将士象馬車砲砲卒卒卒卒卒兵兵兵兵兵炮炮车马相仕帅仕相马车

Local table

Ready to cross?

A quiet game against the local AI. No lobby, no waiting.

Difficulty
Guards the palace

Moves

Red opens. Moves will list here after the first piece lands.

Record

Kept in this browser only. Clearing site data wipes it.

Wins
0
Losses
0
Games
0
  • This gameNot started
  • Plies played0
  • Red clock00:00
  • Black clock00:00

On this page

Chinese chess strategy

Strategy here means habits that keep you from losing in twenty moves — not a paid course. Watch the cannon’s empty files. Don’t leave a chariot unprotected. Give your horse a leg that isn’t blocked. Trade when you’re ahead; complicate when you’re not.

Openings covers the first plan. Rules covers legality. This page sits in the messy middle.

When

When to use

You know the moves and still blunder the same way. Reviewing a lost Easy game.

When not

When not to

Brand-new — how-to first. Wanting engine eval graphs — we don’t ship a broadcast booth.

Defaults

Assumptions

Advice for amateur park play. Master is just a harder computer, not a human coach.

Steps

How

  1. Before each move, ask what a cannon could jump if a screen appeared.
  2. Count loose chariots — they end games.
  3. If the general feels drafty, spend a tempo on palace safety.

Worked notes

Examples

  • You ignore an open file aimed at your chariot → a screen drops and the cannon takes
  • You chase checks forever → on this desk 长将 can lose — stop and improve the piece

Watch-outs

Gotchas

  • Strategy tips are not forced wins.
  • Hard AI punishes hanging pieces; Easy forgives — don’t learn bad habits only on Easy.
  • We don’t sell ‘always win’ stickers.

Controls

Board controls

Use Undo to rewrite a bad plan. Offer draw only when the AI’s material sense might agree.

FAQ

Is this a full strategy book?
No. Short habits + a board.
Where do openings fit?
chinese-chess-openings.
How do I practice a tactic?
Vs-computer, Undo, try again.
Does the Hint button teach strategy?
It suggests a move when it can — not a lecture.